Executive Summary

We are mindful that, as we share the results of this groundbreaking survey of financial services professionals in two of the world’s key financial markets, we approach the fourth anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the harbinger of the global financial crisis.

In the wake of that crisis, numerous countries have examined–and some have adopted–laws and regulations aimed at creating greater stability in the financial markets. In the UK, June 2010 marked the establishment of the Independent Commission on Banking. One month later, President Obama signed into law the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the most sweeping financial reform effort since the Great Depression. Recognizing that financial regulators and law enforcement authorities cannot effectively and efficiently police the marketplace without the assistance of private individuals, one of Dodd-Frank’s key provisions required the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to establish a whistleblower program that offered anonymous reporting, employment protections and monetary awards to individuals who report violations of the federal securities laws.

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